Musings of a small press publisher & author of gay smut

About Closer by Morning:

Thank you for inviting me here today to talk about my novel, Closer by Morning.

This is the book I wanted to write for a long time. I love contemporary thrillers and have all kinds of ideas ticking around in my head. The book is set in my home town of Durham, a beautiful old city that dates back to around 900 AD. Whenever I go into the city centre, I’m bombard with ideas. There’s inspiration everywhere you look, from the cobbled streets to the castle, the river, the cathedral, to say nothing of the gorgeous students and rugby players. The men in Durham are unbelievably hot. That deep rooted history combined with modern city life makes it a great location.

Throw in a few murders and lashings of sex and we’re really cooking with gas.

I plan everything I write in great detail before I start and this book was no exception. It’s one of my favourite parts of the whole process — creating characters and building the story. I write detailed biographies for all of the characters, even the most minor. Ninety percent of that never makes it onto the page but because I know it, it makes everything more real. The characters come to life for me. So much so that I got rather upset when I came to write one of the scenes in Closer by Morning. I loved this guy so much that I didn’t want to put him through what he had to go through. I did, of course, because that’s what makes a great thriller — caring about the characters when something awful happens to them.

Blurb:

When Matt Blyth, a handsome young lawyer, joins an early morning boot camp, all he wants is to get in shape. His 30th birthday is approaching fast. He’s ready to throw away the past and embrace a new future. The last thing he expects is to fall in love … or become embroiled in murder.

Dale Zachary, an American actor, is stuck firmly in the closet. He spent his 20’s playing good-looking jocks in a bunch of bad horror films and romantic comedies. But that boy next door act has a limited shelf life. Dale has landed the role of his career playing a sexy psychotic killer in a major British TV series. It’s a part that could make him a star. It’s no time to fall in love but when Dale meets Matt, the attraction is impossible to resist and they both fall hard.

Someone is killing young men in the city. A killer like no other. The murders bear an uncanny resemblance to the script Dale is shooting. A devious mind is at work. As their relationship becomes more complex, Matt and Dale find the murders intruding further into their lives. The killer is closing in on his next target … it could be either one of them … or both.

About Thom Collins:

Thom Collins lives in Durham, North East England. He enjoys writing racy, romantic thrillers and creating strong, sexy characters. He is currently working on a new romantic trilogy. He lives with his husband and two cats.